A Trip to Cuzco, A New Companion, A Few/Lot of Drunks, and Water Balloons!

February 2, 2015

(We sometimes change his wording to help you understand better what he may be saying.  Of course we may be getting it wrong too.  Some of the things we just leaves as it is written because it makes us smile.  I think some of it is direct translation from Spanish.  I like it and it makes me smile.  )

Big changes and news in the little life of your Elder George!!!  So this week after reunion of the district (district meeting) we got the news that we would be going to Cuzco AGAIN!!!  We left at 8 in the morning on Tuesday.  The bus ride is kind of growing on me.  NOT!!!!!!  Eight-ish hours on the bus really sucks.  I do get a lot of reading in my Libro de Mormon done but yeah that is beside the subject!  We went to Cuzco so we could go to the doctor on Wednesday in the morning.  It was really painful for Elder Osinaga.  I could hear him in the other room (I wasn´t allowed in the room with him).  It was weird being alone, I don´t really like it actually.  Anyway, they needed to test whatever they took out of his leg and we wouldn´t get the results until the morning!!  So we hung out with the office elders for the day and went out working in Cuzco (I love Cuzco).  We taught a few lessons.  The people are so different there.  So much more loving and inviting.  Anyway, we slept in the apartment of the office elders.  We got up to the news that Elder Osinaga would need 30 days of treatment in Cuzco.  Wow, what a shock that was for us.  We didn´t really know what was going to happen because I needed to get back to Puno to start working again.  President was in Cuzco and he told me that I would go back to Puno in one of the next few days.  He would take care of everything.  So I spent one more day in Cuzco and the got on a bus early in the morning, and started my little 8 hour bus ride back to Puno.

I had no idea what was going to happen really.  I was traveling back to Puno without a Comp and was a little scared really.  I got back to Puno and up walked our district leader Elder Thompson with Elder Chota and Elder Enriquez.  I was really confused because Elder Thompson's companion was not there.  I was them informed that Elder Thacker (Elder Thompsons old companion) was in Cuzco on his way to his new sector.  My new companion in Elder Enriquez.  He is from Lima and is a really awesome elder.  We have been pensioning together for the past few months and are really good friends.  We have 2 sectors that we are in charge of.  It is a lot of work.  Where there are usually 4 elders there is just the two of us.  But that keeps us really, really, busy.  We have fun together and it is good to just have fun sometimes.  We work really, really, hard and have a LOT of fun.

Fun!

Lots of FUN!!

The work here in Puno during this month is really hard and slow.  It is a party here for the next 4 weeks.  Everybody drinks and is always drunk.  It is really hard to teach when literally everybody here is drunk.  We are still working with Hermana Virginia.  She is progressing, just really really slowly.  Bryan, well I will be honest, we haven´t visited him in a little while mostly because I have been in Cuzco.  But yeah, a better update on him next week for sure.  We were sitting in my branch and one of the teenagers that we live with brought his friend to church.  When we got home Enrique told us that his friend wants to be baptized as soon as he can.  We have our first lesson with him tonight.  I am pretty dang excited.  He told us that he doesn't care if his parents kick him out.  Whatever happens it is okay because he knows that this is what he wants.  I am thankful for such courage and faith.

So yeah, all of this month Elder Enriquez told me that we need to be careful in the streets and really watch our backs.  It really isn´t as bad as it sound.  Yesterday we were walking to our pensionistas house, it is about a 10 minute walk.  We were walking, and then all the sudden, in the street, a water balloon exploded.  It really isn't anything unusual.  But it was kind of close to us so that worried me a little.  All of the sudden I look up and there is a fleet, flock, yeah, I don't know what to call it, but a ton of water balloons were coming right for us.  Ahhhhhh!!  Now thinking about it it was kind of funny.  We didn't really get too wet, just a little.  So I am going to be careful this month.  The crazy drunks are not that cool either.  But you guys don´t want to hear about them.

Considering that I was in Cuzco for more than half of my week, there was a lot of stuff that happened.

I love you all I can feel your support and prayers!!

Love Elder George